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Olakira

Reviews of Olakira Camp

Wildlife sightings and reviews

72 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Olakira Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Aug-2018, 24 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Olakira Camp.
Lion

96% success

Leopard

87% success

Cheetah

70% success

Wild dog

11% success

Giraffe

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Elephant

96% success

Spotted Hyena

96% success

Buffalo

92% success

Hippo

92% success

Eland

80% success

Roan antelope

42% success

Black Rhino

33% success

Oryx

31% success

Striped Hyena

21% success

Aardvark

7% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 11-20 of 72
Duration
Arrival date
Nick & Kate
Sussex

"Best place for migration and river crossings"

4 nights Arrived 14 Aug 2022
"Starting with the most important aspect - the game viewing. This was amazing, some of the most spectacular Safari experiences we’ve ever had in our many years of African travel. Our guide Daniel was outstanding, hard-working, knowledgeable, a brilliant spotter, and a charming, engaging individual, with a great sense of humour.

There’s plenty of game here, and we saw active leopards, cheetah, a hyena kill, lions and so on, as well as the awesome hordes and hordes of wildebeest, a spectacular sight in its own right. But, the absolute stand-out experience was the river crossing, and we saw two short ones (half an hour or so), and two mega-crossings of over three hours non-stop, with crocodile attacks both successful and unsuccessful. It was breathtaking and mesmerising. Yes, there is a bit of a vehicle scrum to race down to the banks once the animals have entered the water, but you forget this once you’re in position - and Daniel was always in the right position.

Be aware of how chilly this area can be - you are best off taking a bobble hat/beanie, and several warm layers. Blankets and hot water bottles are provided if you’re under-dressed!

This is a mobile camp, that moves twice a year. Nevertheless, it’s well-appointed and luxurious. The tented rooms are spacious and comfortable, with a nice seating area looking out over the plains. There’s plentiful hot water in the shower, but none in the hand basin, so you have to make sure you order a flask for hand-washing - the camp doesn’t automatically provide this, so we were rather caught out on our first morning.

The camp doesn’t wash any underwear, male or female. There’s no shower cap or hair dryer.

Morning coffee and biscuits are delivered to help with that early morning start. Hot water bottles make the nights comfy, as this area of the Serengeti in august was cool and wet most evenings and nights. You have a dedicated ‘butler’ to look after you and your room. The ten tents are spread out along a long track so, if you’re infirm at all, ask for a low-numbered tent near the central area.

You can have pre-dinner drinks around a nice boma (when it’s not raining), but there aren’t enough chairs, so it’s a bit irritating having to wait for a chair to be found. Dining is at a communal table under canvas, with an open-front, but you can also arrange your own private dining. Dinner is served at 7.45 pm, and there’s not much flexibility about this, meaning that if, as often happened with us, you got back a bit late around 7 pm, it was all a bit rushed (you had a choice of either a shower or a drink round the boma, but not both).

Dinner is a self-service buffet, which isn’t all that convenient, but the food was very good. Lunch was also very nice. We mainly had picnic breakfasts in the bush, which were great fun and delicious. When we had breakfast in the camp, the service was really slow. There’s also a drinks tent, and you can have drinks or afternoon tea there, theoretically at any time, although there wasn’t always a staff member around to serve. Wines here are mediocre.

Staff can be a little over-zealous in their interaction with guests. There is a tendency for an intrusive (but well-intentioned) stream of staff lining up to interrupt your meals with questions about how much you are enjoying the food/safari/lodge/life in general. It would be nice for the management training to address this." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

5 sightings

Cheetah

2 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

6 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

5 sightings

Leopard

5 sightings

Lion

8 sightings

Spotted Hyena

8 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr L.
Solihull

"Olakira review"

3 nights Arrived 1 Aug 2022
"The camp was in a perfect location though dining was fair. Fish in the Bush was not the greatest experience.

All the accommodation was excellent.

Once again the guides were very knowledgeable, great fun to be with and made our teenage granddaughters first safari experience very special.

The rest of the staff could not have done more to make our stay very very pleasant.

The Mara wildebeest crossings were exceptional and spectacular. Our drivers were particularly skillful in positioning us in perfect places after the "Wacky Races" !!" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

B & C
London

"It is hard to imagine a more special place"

3 nights Arrived 22 Jun 2022
"It is hard to imagine a more special place. The tents with the stargazing deck are amazing. There is nothing like sleeping, eating and spending time drinking and chatting by the fire in the middle of the savannah. Although very comfortable, it did not feel like an unnatural artifical addition to the wilderness. The camp was in its northern location when we went there.

But the best thing about this amazing place is the staff. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and nice and made us feel truly special. We were very sad to leave them at the end of our stay. The guides (our personal guide was Lenga) are very knowledgeable and the safari with them is an unforgettable experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

2 sightings

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

6 sightings

Giraffe

5 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

1 sighting

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

6 sightings

Ms S.
Emeryville

"Outstanding guide"

3 nights Arrived 12 Oct 2019
"Only less than positive thing to say about Olakira was the energy in the camp - a little much -

Great game drives - our guide (Kaneal, if I'm spelling it right) was very knowledgeable; he got us in very good places to observe what was happening - some domestic life with a pride of lions, the migration of about 400 wildebeest over the Mara River, a lone female lion eating a freshly killed wildebeest - lots and lots of birds --" See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya; 3n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
JONI
California

"Great location with excellent guide"

3 nights Arrived 12 Oct 2019
"This camp is located in a great viewing area. Our guide, Kaneal, was extremely knowledgeable and lots of fun to be with. An absolute professional in every way. We saw the wildebeest river crossing, hippos and crocodiles battling in the river, numerous sightings of lions, leopard and cheetah.

The camp is comfortable, staff is helpful and the food was very good." See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya; 3n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

2 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Oryx

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Rusty Hudak
Stow, OH

"Olakira"

4 nights Arrived 25 Jul 2019
"If you offered a better score than "excellent" I would have chosen it. EVERYTHING about it was first class: accommodation, people, food, food to go, guides, staff - everything!

If I ever go back, that's exactly what I would hope for." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 4n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

4 sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

3 sightings

Elephant

6 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

7 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

4 sightings

Roan antelope

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wild dog

2 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs M
Weymouth

"Olakira review"

3 nights Arrived 18 Jul 2019
"Thousands of wildebeest crossing the Mara River non stop for half an hour is truly an amazing sight plus a few zebra at the same time, a couple of nearby sunbathing crocodiles took no notice, presumably they had had their fill on an earlier crossing.

Although the camp moves twice a year depending on the migration, you would never know as it looks permanent.

Great food and accommodation as always with these safari camps, the staff and guides are friendly, knowledgeable and attentive for your every need.

Our guide Eustace was superb in getting prime positions for the Mara crossing in competition with the many other safari vehicles jostling for a view.." See all these reviews: 17n in Kenya; 9n in Zimbabwe; 6n in Tanzania; 5n in Botswana; 5n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

8 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

6 sightings

Lion

8 sightings

Oryx

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Dr C
Chicago

"Spectacular camp in a beautiful setting"

3 nights Arrived 17 Jul 2019
"Olakira is a beautiful place with comfortable rooms, located very close to the Mara River and lots of interesting areas of the northern Serengeti. The tents are spacious and comfortable.

They must have recently upgraded the showers — because the literature talks about bucket showers, but in fact the showers are easy to use, hot and powerful, and don't require any advance planning.

The service is superb. Our guide was outstanding. It's a mobile camp, so the individual rooms and common areas aren't as luxurious as other permanent camps that we have stayed in, but it's still very nice, the location is excellent, and the service is exemplary." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

5 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

9 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

8 sightings

Spotted Hyena

3 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs H
Northwood

"Wildebeest Calving in Ndutu"

3 nights Arrived 25 Feb 2019
"We came to see the calving of the wildebeest and Olakira was a great camp at which to base ourselves. The staff were extremely friendly and for a seasonal camp the facilities were above expectation.

Due to the popularity of the calving event as a spectacle there were far more vehicles from lots of other camps and lodges." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Cheetah

6 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Giraffe

4 sightings

Lion

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr D
London

"Olakira review"

3 nights Arrived 17 Feb 2019
"This was our favourite camp.

Excellent service, great accommodation, excellent food and a very good guide." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 1n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Showing 11-20 of 72
96%
72 reviews of Olakira Camp by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
60
10
2
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0
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